Interesting Topics for Research Papers

The first thing every student needs to do when assigned a research paper is to decide on their topic. This is because a topic will determine almost everything else about the paper; its tone, its length, the scope of its research, and how you take up your position on it. Because of this, an interesting and specific topic is a must.

You might be wondering where you can find such a topic idea. There are many places you can get inspiration on for your topic, including:

Asking friends or family

Examples or suggestions from your professors

The current news

Historical events

Local or personal issues

Public or school library

There are so many ideas in this world, how are you supposed to just choose one? Start making a list of a few that seem intriguing to you, and then take each one and think about it separately. How would you argue that topic and how would you conduct research on it? Write down what a few of your points might be, and where you’d start looking for sources. If one idea seems to rise above the rest, you have your topic.

Here are three ideas for good topics:

1. High School Dropouts

Are statistics showing that not completing high school equals a fast food job and a lower quality of life? If high school is really that important to your future, then what could be improved about it to lower the rates of dropouts?

2. Students Cheating

How should cheating be punished? Are there different ‘levels’ of cheating that should be punished more or less depending on how much damage they caused? What, exactly counts as cheating – could some students be unaware what they’re doing might be considered cheating?

3. Global Warming

The environmental issue probably most talked about, but is it a very possible future or a very popular study with little actual consequences? How is science backing up what everyone has been saying, and what is really happening with our planet’s atmosphere?

The goal of a great topic should be to introduce a slightly (or very) controversial issue to discuss. For most worth topics, there are very adamant believers or supporters on both sides with very good reasoning. This is a perfect way to judge if a topic idea is good enough or not – is there room to justifiably argue either side?